POP and POS
In the years shown here, “Point Of Purchase” and “Point Of Sale” were the terms to describe the many items that made products appealing, (Today the term: Point Of Sale or POS is widely defined as the process of purchasing the product or service.)
In the years of 1970 to 1975, I was able to touch on this area of marketing. From label and product designs to the promo pieces that brought attention to the product in a store setting. These assignments gave me a sense of being there, greeting the customers. (I was young.)
The A. Carlisle & Co. of San Francisco had the printing and construction equipment to develop a variety of store displays. Carlisle’s creative directors gave me — twelve assignments. Here are some examples:
Shasta: In 1889 “Shasta” was known for the waters from the Mt. Shasta, CA region.
In the years after 1931 it was developed into a ginger ale or soda and they were offered usually as a mix for alcoholic drinks. In the 1950s Shasta Cola became available in cans. Operating from their headquarters in Hayward CA, the Shasta company was a nearby client for advertising assignments.
1970 Shasta Cola, Shelf‐Talker. This was an unusual idea at that time – opaque inks printed on foil, with a die‐cut. This was to show along with the Shasta Cola displayed on the market shelf.
C&H Sugar: (California and Hawaiian Sugar Company) As early as 1906, ships from Hawaii were sailing into San Francisco Bay, then northeast through San Pablo Bay reaching the port of Crockett where they offloaded raw cane sugar. C&H today, produces 700,000 tons of sugar annually. C&H was a steady client for San Francisco ad agencies and printing companies.
1971 C&H Sugar Hawaii (3‐D wire hangers). Here the request was to have two “Wire‐Hangers” with two different scenes on each side (one showing daytime and the other side, nighttime. Also there was a banner with the words: “LUAU LAND”
1972 C&H Sugar (Wire Hangers). I first tried other rough ideas: an egg and bunny as a folded die‐cut in an egg shape – – a little bunny – – a chicken – – then two layouts preceded the final five wire‐hangers.
1973-Electric & Gas Industries Association –EIGA. Originally headquartered in San Francisco, with roots from the early 1930s, EGIA began as a nonprofit membership association with the mission to help promote the sale of energy‐efficient appliances for retailers throughout the state of California. EIGA is now located in Sacramento, CA.
1973: Clorox’s Liquid‐plumr
“Liquid‐plumr” made by Clorox with headquarters in Oakland CA, was another regional client. Not having a color Xerox in those years, I show these four examples in b/w. The one chosen was to be rendered as finished art, printed and then placed in markets near the product.
The large wine industry in California gave the Carlisle Company many opportunities of displaying a variety of displays and bins that would hold many bottles and have photographs portraying an elegant display of the wines.
1973: Inglenook wine was founded in Rutherford, California during 1879 by Gustave Niebaum, a Finnish sea captain.
This Inglenook page of layouts offered the client a choice of photographic settings. The clients would choose the mood that they wanted displayed and a photographer would follow the basic “look” and be the one to choose all of the elements for the “table‐top” setting. The chosen “look” is shown also.
1973: Chilean Wines. Carlisle’s client, here, might have been a company dealing mostly with wines imported into San Francisco Bay. It might have been the beginning of the San Francisco Wine Trading Company. (I have no other source.) For this assignment, we offered many choices of subjects for the “feel” of a Chilean vineyard. Two of the subjects were developed.
1973: One of California’s oldest and most renowned wineries, Geyser Peak Winery was founded in 1880 by Augustus Quitzow, a pioneer in Alexander Valley winemaking,
1974: POP concepts for imported BABYSHAM.
1973 – 1974: Annacorré. I don’t have notes on this display sheet as to who brought this job to us, nor the name of the parent winery. I cannot find any information about this wine, on line.
United Vintners Starting in 1975 I got a number of assignments from United Vintners, usually through ad agencies such as McCann Erickson. Some assignments were also for magazine ads, and posters for Guild Brandy. A “warm‐up” jacket was offered.
How many ways can you offer a wood wine‐rack for $22.00?
For Inglenook, these b&w copies were Magic Marker color sketches to show eleven ways to make that offer on their in‐store display bins.
This other (folded) display layout was to be placed behind a collection of Inglenook bottles.
United Vintners, in those days, also had the three TJ Swann ($1.75) fruit wines: Easy Nights, Mellow Days, and After Hours. These are no longer available in markets. This “Dial a Wine” was to be attached to the refrigerated cases that held these wines. The turn of the dial to 15 descriptive sentences, would offer the suggested fruit wine for each occasion!
This was one of three strange assignments, so far in my career. (The first was the packaging of mealworms for fishing. (“Mighty Mealys” was a previous story.) The other was for a J. Walter Thompson client: Shakey’s Pizza. They planned a Christmas P.O.P. poster showing a slice of pizza with the Shakey’s logo as the star on the top. 7‐Up was an additional product to show – so bottle caps were ornaments and the 7‐Up bottle was the trunk of the tree. (I’ve tried to forget that assignment.)
Browne Vintners
Paul Masson (1859 – 1940) emigrated from Burgundy, France to California in 1878. In 1892 he developed his first sparkling wine. Masson eventually became known as the “Champagne King of California”.
Late 1970s: David Reid, creative director at Browne Vintners, planned that this poster for Paul Masson wines to be, actually, a P.O.P.!
The artist, Dick Moore, said that it was offered FREE– as a “tear‐off‐sheet”.
ADASF 1958 – 1971
Here is a collection of designs accepted in the annual exhibitions of the Art Directors and Artists Club of San Francisco. Point Of Purchase aka: Point Of Sale.
One might question how a large outdoor board could be a point of sale. The two “OK” boards, in the ‘70s, were place at the side of the large Chevrolet lots selling “OK” approved used cars. Too bad, that the annuals were only in black and white. (I had one color example, so I added it.
The many San Francisco Bay Area graphic artists and art studios — had steady sources of employment. Reviewing all of these examples from the few years shown, I wonder how the POP industry is operating now. Do artists still have the freedom to develop and render various choices for the client, printing shops, or ad agencies – – still with markers or what?
Ann Thompson
An Apple For The Artist
Long before an Apple Computer became one of my art tools, I was asked to create Illustrations “the old fashioned way” for the Apple IIGS Owner’s Guide (manuals are no longer offered).
Apple’s Macintosh had been introduced in 1984, yet the Apple II series of computers continued for about ten more years. When I was awarded the job on 8−26−85 my finished artwork was still accomplished with illustration boards, pens, brushes and inks. At that same time, I had my freelance and agency‐in‐house artist space in the Vicom Associate’s offices on Battery Street in San Francisco.
There were a couple of meetings with Apple, when I would drive down to Cupertino to plan an art style and page design and also determine my price for the job. Translating copy to art for Apple Computer’s IIGS manual, I was asked to keep my spots “light‐hearted”. Everything developed smoothly and when I needed the accuracy of depicting the four Apple computers available those days, I turned to Richard Moore (freelancing from our home) to compose and create the finished detailed art of the four existing line of Apple II computers.
Apple IIGS Owner’s Guide. 1986, Apple Computer, Inc.
Concepts and Illustrations: Ann Thompson, Art Direction: Molly Tyson; additional product illustrations: Dick Moore.
Soon, more Apple II Guides were needed, but my original agency accounts in SF needed me. My contacts in Cupertino asked me “Are there any more like you at home?” and I said, “Yes” and Richard Moore completed several more manuals for them. Apple was glad that Richard set us up at home with an Apple IICX –$16,000 (at that time) including printer, scanner, (the works)! Richard’s Apple illustrations for the manuals were, for the first time, created with an Apple computer!
The Macintosh, A Better Apple Was Presented.
Apple’s Macintosh computers were being introduced and soon set up in Vicom Associates’ art department. At one point, the agency wanted to test the Macintosh’s abilities against my usual methods of making the large, 24” X 36” — presentation boards for the agency’s meetings with their various clients. The requirements: –quality of message and speed — I won, achieving both requirements!
The art department could only print letter‐sized prints from their Macs. The crew in the art department had to (1‐search and choose from the limited choices of clip‐art, (2‐compose the type, boxes, arrows and images, (3‐print out the document, (4‐send it out to a copy shop to make a Photostat up to display size and then (5‐wait for the b/w print and when it arrived, spray‐mount it to a foam core board. I had the benefit of 1 sheet of large layout paper, full color (markers and pencils) and I could compose unlimited subjects. I often had to work through the night on those display boards that were to fly in the morning to an early meeting on the east coast. (Using the Mac, the agency would have had to keep the art crew and copy shop into the night.) My boards became known in this agency as “Annie‐Boards”! When one of our art directors moved to another advertising agency, she, out of habit, asked for “Annie‐ Boards” to be made.”Animatics”?, “animation?”, her co‐workers asked. She said that she had to describe my boards.
(Note: I don’t have the exact example from the competition, because it was shown at the planned client meeting.)
There were times that I could have asked for a Mac in my room in the agency, but there were young and eager hires ready to sit there with and art director over their shoulder, and I knew that I’d get into it on my own at home. When I did, we had an AppleIICX at home. My abilities grew as each new graphic software program became available. I experimented with all kinds of subject, yet I would keep trying subjects needed for my agency assignments.
With the earlier computers and drawing programs, drawing with a “mouse” (like a small brick) it seemed not to matter if I was left or right‐handed. The very early computer line art had the large pixels. “Studio 8” offered a lot to the graphic artist, but the edges were still very rough. The Mac and the two Adobe programs: Photoshop and Illustrator offered a huge range of different qualities for different needs. These show the improvement of the graphic programs and my improvement using them.
Personal Experimental:
Job Subjects:
Ten Second Manager
Around the mid ‘90s I received many assignments for Apple University (internal teaching publications). One assignment from Apple University was a pocket‐sized handbook for employees — the style of the illustrations was to be “more humorous”. Following the copy that was written for the pocket sized handbook, 23 humorous illustrations were accepted.
Apple University – The Ten‐Second Manager. 1996, Apple Computer, Inc.,
Copy: Molly Tyson, Design and Illustrations: Ann Thompson, Evangelism: Sherri Rose, Production & Moral Support: Ken Freehan
Internal Homepage: Apple University
The first meetings were with the title, “The Art of Management”. Many more page arrangements brought us to the next sketch that you see with the title “Apple University”. The final design is shown here on Netscape, the web browser of that time.
“Leader’s Lounge” was a link from the Homepage. The highlighted objects in the Lounge were “links” to additional pages with more written information.
Apple University’s Catalog of Services
Forty pages plus cover with 15 illustrations (mostly of them repeated from the Ten Second Manager.
These assignments, above, for Apple University were my favorites because of the amount of creative freedom they gave to me. The Mac became my favorite art tool. I’m on our iMac, now.
Ann Thompson
Jane Teiko Oka: Graphic Art To Wild Animals
Jane Teiko Oka wrote this brief timeline of her art career:
Applied for and received a working scholarship to California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco, around 1954.
After one year, received full scholarship until I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree.
Accepted employment with a commercial art studio – Patterson & Hall in San Francisco.
Applied for and received a Fulbright scholarship in 1960 to study in Japan. Extended my stay (after my 10 months scholarship ended) to 1½ year, traveling within the country and visiting various studios and hand crafting companies.
Returned to San Francisco in 1962 and began my freelance career in the city.
One of my major clients – Japan Air Lines
Locally – Blum’s. San Francisco Magazine (story illustrations and cover designs).
Other areas of work:
Calendars, gift items, package design, posters, storybook illustrations, school
readers illustrations.
The Following is the collection that follows Jane’s timeline:
Around 1954, when Jane was living in San Francisco, she fulfilled her art scholarship at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco (which became the San Francisco Art Institute in 1961) These are just a few of her portfolio samples.
In 1959 there was the huge assignment from the Educational Posters Co. Jane created the poster: Children Of Other Lands, 25½” x 37½”. Jane posed each of the 55 children and researched the costumes of each country. For the creatures of other lands she illustrated 22 mammals, 1 Toucan, and 5 schools of fish. Added are 3 ships. The examples below: the first image is of the full poster as offered on the web, followed by a “detail” that I have reduced from full size, to print on letter‐size gloss paper. (In researching this poster, I found this additional photo of a little girl pointing to the same poster. With little difficulty, I found that this little girl is Linda Davick, now also a children’s book illustrator in San Francisco. I reached her by email and she wanted Jane to know that she loved the poster. Linda wrote: “I’m SURE Jane’s poster influenced my art career in a big way. I looked at it all the time!”)
1959 – The Bohemian Club accepted artists (only men) on the condition that they contribute their talents. Jane (and I, also) were put to the task of creating art for a club member. Here is (Jane’s) invitation to an event at the Bohemian Grove’s summer encampment. The Owl is the club’s mascot. On line, I also found this example created by Bruce Butte. I had worked for Butte, Herrero & Hyde until April 1965 and I am sure this was Bruce’s art because I also recognize Bill Hyde’s lettering.
Also shown above is this photo of Jane at the art studio: Patterson & Hall where she designed a page of the calendar that was a coöperative project of P&H’s studio and Charles R. Wood, Lithographers (which had a notable reputation for quality printing). The abstract design by Jane Oka utilized transparent and opaque colors printed on foil. The calendar was released in 1961. Jane’s book cover design for “Key To Lasting Slimness” was published in 1960.
Jane’s 10‐month Fulbright Scholarship in Tokyo began with many weeks of making Sumi inks, until her talents were realized. Then she was set free to explore the local studios of arts and crafts. The examples of Jane’s on‐the‐spot sketches are shown below. 1962, back in San Francisco, Botsford, Constantine & Gardner found Jane’s knowledge of Japan and art style, perfect for their client: Japan Air Lines. The booklet: Japan Air Lines – Living in Japan – shows thirty of Jane’s illustrations, large and complex and small and simple. Jane also created two maps. Shown is the intricate map of Tokyo and the other map was of the routes of Japan Air Lines.
In 1965 Jane Oka moved from commercial to decorative art: Blum’s packaging designs (Blum’s was, in the 1960s, an exclusive candy‐shop / luncheonette that created many “sweets” and was known for their unique packaging; tins and boxes). San Francisco Magazine, covers and story illustrations. NAVH contributions of more than 30 holiday card illustrations for the benefit of National Aid to the Visually Handicapped. Of this subject: “children of many lands”, we show just two of the series of 24 – Jane’s yearly gift to the charity. Jane created the designs for matchboxes produced in Japan.
Decorative posters: 1968 was also the beginning of her creation of posters for Portal Publications, Ltd. – the assignments extended to 1973 when the art was converted into yearly calendars. 12 Zodiac Signs, 5 Kitchen Charts, 5 Gourmet Guides, 10 Proverbs, All at: 20”x 29” (Size of the Calendar art: 13”x 16”)
Jane Oka designed all thirty‐two posters, working directly with Portal Publications from 1969 and into the1970s. Some of the artwork was reprinted as calendars, so there is the additional smaller collection. Jane styled and ordered the type, researched and wrote the various copy blocks and list of ingredients, and presented Portal Publications with the paste‐ups ready for printing.
Posters used as decorative props In the Woody Allen movie,” Sleeper” there was a scene where one of Jane’s Zodiac posters was used as a prop. There is a website: “The Kids in 201”, it is a blog about the TV series: “Three’s Company”. It shows two of these posters used for room props. Redbook Magazine’s “Redbook Crafts” (March 1978 issue) printed with permission from a published 1976 book: “Things To Do In A Day”. Using Jane’s “Calories” poster as a choice in decorating the project.
Posters used as yardage and other items. Without Jane or Portal Productions being aware, yardage was produced using the art from her (most popular) the12‐signs Zodiac poster. A photo below shows the Zodiac yardage made into clothing. Jane says that “someone (?)” found and showed her this Playboy Magazine ad offering men’s pants – using fabric from her poster art. The San Francisco Examiner shows a comforter made of the fabric.
There were blow‐up vinyl pillows of each sign, and key chains. These might have been produced by Portal Publications, or not. Jane would see her Gourmet or Kitchen posters used as décor in restaurants. And, one day, as Jane was standing on the side of a San Francisco street, a Volkswagen “Hippy” bus drove by with her Virgo poster design painted on it. She was sorry that she didn’t have a camera to record the sight. Jane has a huge collection of these posters and we are searching for a place to market them. The collection is from the printer, never removed from the boxes that were given to her as each poster was produced.
1969 to 1978 was also filled with book illustrations.
The move from graphic art to the art of wild animal care! An overlapping interest and devotion was in the care of Marin County’s wildlife. Orphaned or hurt birds and animals were her first interests, then the sea animals, at The Marine Mammal Center. In 1998, “Healers Of The Wild” was published. Jane Oka’s contributions were listed, third, on page 205 (as shown, below). Jane had served as shift supervisor for nineteen years. In 2000, Jane designed this T‐shirt for the 18th Annual “Run For The Seals” benefit and she recently donated the preliminary art and the finished art to the center for their on‐sight exhibit.
The energy and determination needed for Jane Oka’s intense work‐mode is still there, she is non‐stop. (She does take a break, as at the 2008 Geezers’ Gathering and when she visits us.)
Ann Thompson
The Past And The Last Geezer Gathering?
In those days, when I started free‐lancing as a commercial artist, I found that San Francisco usually did not reach out to the east or to the LA area. The coolness of this area made it a printing center from the very early days. I found, that all of the various services that were needed for advertising in the 1940s to the1970s pretty well kept to the tight group of talents within the SF Bay Area. This was before the national delivery services. Local deliveries were often by walking. “Aero Delivery” bicycles were for local rush jobs and a run to the US Post Office before closing time with packages of art was the way to the outside world. Some Illustrators did mail their finished art to Chicago, NYC, and even Cleveland. Even TV commercials were created here, as at Imagination, Inc. on Kearny Street where I had a summer job as a cell‐painter for Standard Oil commercial.
A lot of friendships grew in clubs: the Art Directors and Artists of San Francisco, the SF Society of Illustrators, the San Francisco Copywriter’s Club, ASMP (the American Society of Media Photographers) and APA (American Photographers of America). There was also in 1958 the Society of Designers and Illustrators (that was before my time). On any street, downtown, you’d see a person that you knew – as our “Madison Ave.” was spread all around downtown San Francisco.
Salespersons in the trade, knew most of the players in our industry. There were Paper Reps, Typography Reps, Printing Reps, Art Studio Reps, Art Supply Reps – – Art Flax would make personal visits.
Murray Hunt represented Spartan Typographers. Spartan’s owner, Jim McGlynn, had been to the Haas’sche Schriftgiesserei (Haas Type Foundry) of Münchenstein, Switzerland and brought back the new 1957 type font – Helvetica –exclusive to their shop in Oakland. The type became a huge favorite – and still is –as we are using it here on this site. Murray would call on several designers in the Jackson Square area and soon there were a number of them at “Clown Alley” at lunch. (Favorite restaurants are listed in an earlier post.) San Francisco felt like “a very small ad town”, then.
The self‐employed artists personally met most all of the ad agency art directors and the various other agency personnel. In art studios, the sales persons for the studios usually were the ones who called on the clients and art directors in agencies – unless the artist needed to meet for direct discussions.
There was also foot‐traffic, after‐hours. There were no in‐house copy machines, no stat machines.
Top illustrators would often personally carry their art to the various photo‐stat shops. Their support team may have left for the day and an urgent call to Copy Cats or Copy Service would keep the doors open and that stat crew waiting. (Copy Service’s, Jim Faulkner – I still owe him a drink, after all these years.) Some individual studios had a Camera Lucinda, a “Luci’“ projector for late hours or weekend work. But that was a slow process for calculating size changes in preliminary work. When two art studios combined, I asked for the extra Art‐O‐Graph. I borrowed my mother’s car‐with‐hatch‐back and took it away. We found our “lucI” a great asset at home, even when we already had early Apple computers. Yes, we could enlarge images on the computer screen but not up to 14”x17” paper or as enlargement of smaller “thumb‐nails” to be reflected onto illustration board for traditional, painted, finished art.
Unlike email, telephone contacts brought out a lot of the personalities of both parties. Without the availability of “attachments by email” there was the walk outside to deliver and show the work – in‐ progress, discuss and make noted adjustments to the job – – and possibly time it for a lunch nearby where the others with our same interests, lunched.
The close working relationships within the city – – is the reason that the GEEZERS are such tight friends, even after all these years. I found that school reunions are a wide mix if interests, when fellow students go into so many different occupations. Our Geezer reunions have locked in the same persons with the same (graphic arts) trade so all the past recollections are familiar to many. Now (still 200 strong) we do contact our Geezers by gang‐email, announcing art gallery shows, personal announcements and a yearly gathering, a picnic.
Our yearly GEEZER reunions were always in early October when the weather is usually cool. Although, the very first Gathering was on July 31,1993 at the Buechert property in Petaluma CA. Bob Buechert and a hand full of ad types (I don’t remember who we all, were) planned the event. Several lists from each of us were put together for mailing. We never again had such a large attendance. Please see the 1993 photo at the bottom of the Gathering list, at left on this site. (I counted 90 in the photo and then added Dick Moore who took the photo from up on the water tower and a few who might have been still at the food tables and where some “classic” cars were parked – so maybe 100?) This happened to be a weekend of the Bohemian Grove encampment. Declining RSVPs came to us from their artist members. (Beginning in 1872, Bohemian Club meetings were only of journalists, artists and musicians.)
Now in 2018 (to bring a full circle of the 20 picnics that followed) we were happy this year, to have guests: Arlene and Courtney Buechert. This year’s picnic was the last gathering to be held in this Corte Madera Town Park. The park wants the space in September and October for the young soccer teams. It has only been convenient to a small portion of our Geezers. So I am hoping that the in the future we can find multiple free and convenient locations.
On October 3rd, rain was possible. The Bay Area had been dry since May, but the night before our picnic it rained heavily at 10pm. Even with that, we emailed that we would be there at the park to see who could show up. At 11am, we were ready with umbrella at hand, and then the gang appeared:
Email to us after the picnic was so very kind in the thanks to us. Here is just one:
The photos are so nice, it was a lovely day and we had a nice time. Thanks also for all you have done to keep the advertising folks in touch with each other, that is no small task and you have made a really interesting group cohesive and together.
Four of them noted:
“Thanks for sending. Who in the hell is that old man with the long hair? I just got it cut, can we re‐shoot?”
“Very sneaky. I had no idea that I was subject matter!”
“Hi Ann, thanks for the photos. We’re certainly looking geezerish.”
“Look forward to seeing the group pix. And somehow attending another Geezer’s picnic somewhere!!”
— — —
Yes, somewhere.
Ann Thompson
And Best to you Ann Thompson from all the Geezers past and present.
XO Piet Halberstadt
Bill Shields
We have previously posted collections of Willi Baum and Dick Moore and most recently, some of Earl Thollander’s Chinese cooking illustrations.
Here is a showing of Bill Shield’s commercial art from the years: 1961 to 1975
Now, examples of his fine art (with views of his workspace‐easel with art in progress).
Bill and family lived on Pine Street in San Francisco. In time, by re‐building the home, it became the “Artists Inn” – with warm B&B hospitality and it was decorated with Bill’s paintings.
Bill also remodeled the building at the rear of their property. It was Bill’s studio and originally had spaces for other artists. Later, it also became an addition to the inn that welcomed visitors to San Francisco.
Show 3‐Artists Inn 1, 2 & 3
Ann Thompson